New to the X!

[xsx450]

Hey guys,

I have been lurking around here reading a lot over the past few weeks as I was in search for my first X5. I landed on the x5 because i wanted AWD for the snow (tahoe) and to be able to tow my light trailer with my dirt bikes. I also enjoy the luxury and aesthetics of BMW as well as the power and feel of a healthy V8.


My recent car ownerships have included the following:

06 Audi A4 2.0T Auto - Hated it, felt like a nice looking passat, cheap feeling
04 Audi S4 4.2l 6-speed - Loved it, absolutely amazing car, went through control arm bushings quick and dreaded engine problems and costly repairs ultimately led me to sell her.
01 325ci 5 speed - Loved/Love It! great car, ran very smooth, enough power to not be annoying, very solid feel while driving, great gas mileage, luxurious, and dependable.

I still have the 325 but on friday I picked up my 2006 4.8is Black on Black with 69,000 miles for what i think was a good deal (4k under private party blue book).

I work on all my own vehicles and I am not ignorant to the needs of a high end BMWs such as the x5. I had the vehicle checked out by m mechanic before purchase and everything was good except minor thins; high beams were out, slight leak from a power steering line, air bag light fault code.Few dead pixels in the Nav. Worn out Radius Arm Bushings. These all helped me get the price down.

I am keeping my fingers crossed on the transmission, it shifts very beautifully and there were no fault codes whatsoever. Previous owner seemed to take very good care of the car.

I have a few questions about some things I have noticed in the last few days;

SUSPENSION:
It has the front and rear air ride. The adjustment buttons work fine, although it is a little confusing to me why it just goes back to the middle once you go over a certain speed.

HARSH RIDE: I am running Bridgestone RFT's on the 20's which I know may be part of it. However it rides very tight and sporty like I would think and small bumps/unevenness it takes fine (no cadicallac, but fine) However Large potholes, significant changes in the road surface (sharp edges) going over 20-30mphs it feels like it is bottoming out. I hear a loud knock from both front tires and it sounds like metal on metal, very harsh and unpleasant.

Looking for any advice on that, I am going to start by replacing all the bushings on the car and then the tires next but It seems too harsh to just be that...

I also noticed the other night that with the lights on Automatic mode sometime only one xenon fires and i have to switch them off then on to get it to fire. It is random and has been working fine most of the time.

69,000 miles I plan to change all fluids except I am on the fence about the transmission. I have heard so many stories about transmission "life" fluid" and if it has gone over 50k without a flush its too late leave it, etc.

Sorry for the long post, as you can tell I am very excited and appreciate any/all of the help!!